It Goes Like This...

...Black writer writes column about how black people should "be more thoughtful about whom they choose to rally around, ought to be less automatic in leaping to the defense." He refers to the O.J. Simpson syndrome, whereby a black celebrity is defended to the utmost by the black community when accused of a crime, innocent or guilty. Nothing happens.


...White writer writes column about how black people should "grow beyond the automatic reaction of defending someone because he or she shares the same skin color and is in a dilemma." He refers to O.J. Simpson syndrome, whereby a black celebrity is defended to the utmost by the black community when accused of a crime, innocent or guilty. He is fired from the student newspaper at Oregon State University.


So far, so typical of lefty thought policing at colleges. Instapundit added it to his "Crushing of Dissent" watch, which is where I got the link. But let us, for a moment, delve deeper:

Williams "does not know the experiences African-Americans have gone through. He will never know that," said Lauren Smith, president of the university's Black Student Union.

Let us examine the assumptions inherent in this statement: 1) Only those that "know the experience" of African-Americans may presume to write an opinion of them which is in any way critical. 2) This is true even if that opinion should make a point which is in itself uncontroversial (i.e. blindly supporting someone because of his skin color is stupid and wrong). 3) White people "will never know" the experience of African-Americans.


Inasmuch as the first assumption is in line with the old adage that one should refrain from judgement without walking the mile, I take the point. But just what are these "experiences" that Williams cannot know? Poverty? Surely she knows that there are far more poor whites than poor blacks, even if she never acknoledges such in her rhetoric. She does not know that Williams did not grow up poor. Fatherlessness? She does not know whether Williams knows his father or not.


Perhaps I am merely unjustly stereotyping. After all, as I have just demostrated, poverty and fatherlessness are not solely African-American experiences. I should assume instead that Smith is referring to the experience of dealing with racism, with being unjustly discriminated against because of race. Therefore, she should probably take note of Williams reaction:

"I guess this case has shown me that just because I'm a different skin color, the merits of what I wrote have been marginalized and ostracized to the point that I'm labeled everything in the book like racist, Nazi," Williams said.

It sounds to me like all that's missing is someone burning a cross in front of Williams dorm. Congratulations, OSU! Mission Accomplished. Dr. King would be so proud.